BUFFALO, N.Y. , January 5, 2017 – Shared Mobility, Inc. and Independent Health today announced final results for the first season of the new Reddy bikeshare program in the City of Buffalo and thanked the community for its enthusiastic support.

According to Jennifer White, marketing and communications executive for Reddy bikeshare, year-one milestones for the program, which officially launched on July 21 with 200 “smart” bicycles with GPS capabilities located at 35 stations throughout the city included:

11,986 trips 17,614 miles traveled 766,080 calories burned

In 15 weeks, White said the total distance traveled by Reddy bikeshare members equaled the round trip distance from Buffalo to New Zealand and the total calories burned was the equivalent of nearly 7,500 chicken wings, minus the blue cheese.

“On behalf of Shared Mobility, the not-for-profit organization that brought Reddy Bikeshare to Buffalo, and Independent Health, our community partner, we want to thank everyone who helped us make 2016 a great success,” said White. “We asked local residents and out-of-town visitors to ‘Get Reddy Buffalo’ and they enthusiastically responded. We are now focusing on efforts to increase membership and ridership next year, including more guided group rides, and some possible expansion plans as well.”

Independent Health President and CEO Michael W. Cropp, M.D. said the health plan was thrilled with its involvement in helping to encourage exercise, recreation and green transportation in Western New York, while also boosting Buffalo as a bike-friendly community.

“Independent Health is excited to support Reddy bikeshare while continuing to sponsor events such as Slow Roll Buffalo, SkyRide Buffalo and numerous other activities that encourage our members – and the entire Buffalo Niagara region – to embrace fitness and a healthy lifestyle,” said Dr. Cropp.

Shared Mobility CEO Michael Galligano said Reddy bikeshare’s inaugural season resulted in 1,700 riders, “We have seen riders using Reddy bikeshare for both recreational use and going to and from errands and work,” said Galligano.

Galligano said many recreational trips were taken during festivals and weekends, and included travel along the waterfront and the Outer Harbor. Riders also commuted south into the downtown core in early morning hours for work, while also using Reddy bikes mid-day for short trips around the city, making multiple stops along the way.

“Preliminary survey findings have yielded that 20 percent of respondents stated their primary reason for using Reddy bikeshare was to go to work or do personal errands,” said Galligano, adding “many of these trips are replacing the use of a personal vehicle.”

“Our data indicates a significant number of students from Buffalo State College used Reddy bikes to get to Wegmans and Tops, so we expect even more students will use them in the spring semester” said White. “We are also anticipating growth and increased ridership in and around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, the Elmwood Village, Forest Lawn Cemetery, and the Lower West Side.”

In partnership with Schneider Development, Reddy bikeshare will expand to the Lower West Side with a station placed at Turner Lofts at 295 Niagara St. Partnership details will include free one-year memberships for all residents of the building. Continued expansion throughout the city is an ongoing project for Reddy bikeshare who are looking for community partners to launch stations in new locations within the city.

Other highlights for the 15-week Reddy bikeshare season in 2016 include:

The most popular stations were at Canalside, Buffalo State College and Bidwell Parkway The average trip distance was 2.1 miles The longest trip was 66 miles, in which a couple of riders trekked to Niagara Falls and back The average rider burned 543 calories; the most active riders burned over 5,000 this season The most active member took 97 trips Average trip duration from annual pass holders was 33 minutes Average trip duration from hourly and group pass holders was 50 minutes

White said while the bikes and racks have been placed in storage for the winter, they are making plans to ensure continued success in 2017 with a renewed focus on safety, including discounted helmet purchases from local bike shop retailers,

“We encourage questions, comments and suggestions on how to improve Reddy bikeshare in the coming year. We are already gearing up for season two and can’t wait to offer the service again come spring.” added White.

For more information please visit www.reddybikeshare.com or contact Jennifer White at jen@reddybikeshare.com or 716-407-7474.

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